Abuja, Jan 8 : Nigeria has given an ultimatum of one week to the US asking it to remove the country's name from the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations.

The US government has blacklisted few nations whose citizens are subject to rigorous screening before entering America in the wake of failed attempt of terror attack on Christmas.

Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was arrested for plotting a bomb blast in a flight from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport Dec 25 as it prepared to land in Detroit.

Abuja, Dec 31 : Muslim leaders in Nigeria have denied allegations that the international terrorist network Al Qaeda is active in the country, media reports said Wednesday.

Islamic clerics interviewed by Abuja newspaper the Daily Trust said the 23-year-old Nigerian who attempted to blow up an Airbus flight from Amsterdam to Detroit Dec 25 was an isolated case.

"There is no connection between the accused and any religious group in Nigeria," Islamic scholar Abdulfattah Adeyemi was quoted as saying.

Nairobi/Abuja, Dec 5 : Nigerian fans are happy with their World Cup group, which pits them against Argentina, South Korea and Greece, but are worried their coach will be unable to take advantage of the relatively kind draw.

Nigeria struggled to qualify under local coach Shaibu Amodu, only getting there on the last day by virtue of Mozambique notching up an unlikely victory against group leaders Tunisia.

However, Argentina also qualified by the skin of their teeth under Diego Maradona and seem to hold no fears for the Nigerians.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigeria's main militant group said Friday that it would resume attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, three months after calling a ceasefire.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has conducted a long-running campaign of sabotage, cutting the West African nation's oil production by more than 20 per cent since early 2006.

However, many of its commanders and rank-and-file men have taken advantage of a government amnesty to lay down their arms over the past few months.

Nairobi/Abuja - Some 70 people were killed, many of them burned to death, in a multiple-vehicle inferno in Nigeria caused after a fuel tanker lorry crashed, the online edition of This Day newspaper reported Saturday.

The accident in Anambra State ultimately involved nine vehicles, including the fuel tanker, six commuter buses, and passenger car and a van, the report said.

The newspaper cited eyewitnesses as saying the fuel tanker first toppled over near a junction, spilling fuel onto the road. The fuel exploded when a car approached the secne and then the other vehicles also were engulfed in flames.

The report described a horriific scne of people being burned alive in their vehicles.

Nairobi/Abuja - Nigeria's main militant group said Wednesday it was extending a ceasefire for 30 days but warned it would resume attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta if its grievances were not addressed.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has conducted a long-running campaign of sabotage, cutting the West African nation's oil production by over 20 per cent since early 2006.

"MEND is extending its unilateral ceasefire which expired midnight, September 15, 2009, by 30 days," MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in a statement. "The government should use this extension ... to do the right thing instead of pretending to talk peace while arming the military for a war it can not win."

Nairobi/Abuja  - A 60-day amnesty for militant groups in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta came into effect on Thursday - a move the government hopes will end attacks on oil facilities.

Nigeria's main militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has conducted a long-running campaign of sabotage in the oil-producing Niger Delta, cutting the West African nation's oil production by over 20 per cent since early 2006.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigeria's largest rebel militia group declared a 60-day ceasefire Wednesday, following the release by the government of their leader.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) announced the ceasefire, starting Wednesday, in a statement after the government in Abuja released Henry Okah.

MEND target oil production facilities in the Niger Delta, claiming that not enough of the country's profits from its oil resources, often run by foreign multinationals, find their way back to the local population.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigeria's main militant group on Friday said it had destroyed a pipeline supplying crude oil to Italian company Agip's export terminal, the latest in a string of attacks.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has increased its activities in the oil-producing Niger Delta since Nigerian forces attacked one of its camps last month.

MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an emailed statement that the group's fighters blew up the pipeline in Bayelsa state in the early hours of the morning and also disarmed seven government soldiers.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigeria's main militant group said Wednesday that it attacked a Chevron flow station in the oil-producing Niger Delta and set it ablaze as part of a new offensive against oil companies.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said its fighters attacked the Chevron Otunana flow station in Delta state late Tuesday and left it "engulfed in fire."

Nairobi/Abuja  - The main militant group in Nigeria's oil- producing Niger Delta region Friday called off a long-term ceasefire, citing an attack on one of its camps.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which in September declared a ceasefire after a week of attacks platforms, pipelines and oil flow-stations owned by Chevron, Shell and Agip, said it would resume hostilities.

Nairobi/Abuja - A mob has has raided the home of a film director jailed for defying Islamic censors in northern Nigeria, local media reported Monday.

Hamisu Lamido, known as Iyan Tama, is serving a 15-month sentence for releasing a film without the approval of the Kano State Censor's Board.

A mob of over 30 men late last week broke into his home and threatened his wife and children, a family friend told Leadership Nigeria.

Nobody was injured and nothing was stolen in the attack.

Lamido was jailed in December, but his lawyers are appealing the sentence.

Abuja - Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited on Wednesday denied allegations that Africa's first communication satellite was missing in orbit.

Ahmed Rufai, Managing Director of the company, a public-private partnership, said that the satellite was powered down after technical problems were identified on Sunday night.

"We, in collaboration with our Chinese counterparts, identified some problems on Sunday and had to switch off the satellite to enable us to carry out fault analysis of the situation," he said, adding that the satellite was fully insured.

Abuja - German President Horst Koehler said Monday that Africa should have a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council

Continuing his six-day visit to Nigeria, Koehler said that in efforts to reform the body, there must be a "fair representation of Africa," although he did not specify which country should be considered to hold the seat.

The German president also said that a fair representation for all the world's regions should be assured as well in other international organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Koehler himself had previously headed the IMF.

Koehler said this issue should be taken up in the debate concerning the causes of the international financial crisis.

Abuja- Nigeria was awaiting the arrival Friday of German President Horst Koehler and his wife Eva Luise for the start of a six-day visit devoted to bilateral and African issues.

In Abuja, Koehler will be meeting with Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and taking part, through Sunday, in the fourth "Africa Forum" for a review of a number of policy issues.

Abuja is the fourth venue for the Africa Forum, after meetings in Bonn, Ghana, and the German town of Kloster Eberbach.

Abuja - German President Horst Kohler is expected in Nigeria on Friday to participate in the German-sponsored fourth Africa Forum of the Partnership with Africa initiative.

The German embassy in Nigeria said Thursday that Kohler would also discuss bilateral issues with Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua.

"Our political relations are on a solid basis and we are still working very hard to improve and to deepen these relations," Germany's ambassador to Nigeria, Joachim Schmillen, said.

Abuja - Nigerians were jubilant Wednesday after Barack Obama was declared the 44th president of the United States of America.

Many Nigerians stayed glued to their television sets to monitor the election.

The moment Obama was announced to have won Ohio and Pennsylvania, cheering erupted in beer parlours and homes across Africa's most populous nation.

Lai Mohammed, spokesman of Action Congress, Nigeria's main opposition party, whose 2007 presidential candidate is still contesting the election of Umaru Yar'Adua, hailed the poll as an example to other nations.

Abuja - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua on Wednesday sacked 20 of his 39 cabinet ministers.

Yar'Adua spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said that the ministers were dropped as part of efforts to rejuvenate Yar'Adua's administration.

He said that the decision, taken after Wednesday's cabinet meeting, was meant to reposition and strengthen the administration to better deliver services to Nigerians.

Abuja - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said that the power-sharing model used to end the post-election chaos in his own country should not be used as a blanket solution for African states.

"You cannot institutionalize power-sharing as a way of transforming democracy," Odinga said during a visit to Nigeria.

"This would mean we would have incumbents who resist a change after being defeated ... and refuse to accept the will of the people in the hope that there will be a power-sharing arrangement," he added.

More than 1,500 people died in clashes between rival tribes affiliated to political parties and hundreds of thousands were forced to flee their homes during the post-election violence earlier this year.

Nairobi/Abuja - Nigeria's main militant group Wednesday threatened to unleash anarchy in the oil-rich Niger Delta should government officials accused of siphoning off funds in one of the region's states not be dealt with harshly.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Tuesday it had arrested the chief of staff to the governor of Rivers state and the secretary of the state government as it probes irregular withdrawals of large sums from government accounts.